Car suggestions for a Jetta

Not in the budget, but GET BETTER BRAKE PADS!!!

Since it's a '92, it has the Digifant II injection system.  They respond well to mild (~260*) cams, dual-outlet manifolds and downpipes (if yours has the stock "toilet bowl" manifold now), and high-octane gas.  Despite what some people want you to think, you're better off with the factory airbox in place.

These cars also like better damping, so a shock upgrade should be in your future.  Rear sway bars (in addition to the factory unit) are very helpful.

Flush the cooling system very well.  If you can afford it, get a low-temp thermostat and radiator fan switch.  They do have cooling issues if run very hard in very warm temperatures for long stints.

You'll want to bring at least one spare blue sensor (look on the water neck if you don't know what a blue sensor is), spare spark plugs/caps/rotors, maybe a coil, axles as mentioned above, some spare shifter parts (especially the plastic transfer rods), and a spare AFM is a good idea.

I owned a '92 8v for 11 years, and was fortunate enough to have it at the track many times.  Great car for the $$$; if you can make it reliable and drive it well, it should be a contender! 

Best of luck!

# 4.2: Safety Equipment DOES NOT Count Toward $500 Total: Safety equipment described in Section 3 DOES NOT count toward the $500 total. "Safety" refers to things that can save the driver--not things that can save the car.

          o 4.2.1: Beside the items and processes listed in Section 3, the following are considered safety-related and therefore exempt:
                + Wheels, tires, wheel bearings, and brake components

You can upgrade brake components.  Our light Golf killed the brakes in less than one day at CMP.  Autozone brake pads are good for a nice couple of hours, then they are gone.

No!  Spend your money on other things.  There are several reasons:
1.  You won't be able to run smaller than a 15" wheel.  That means higher unsprung weight and you don't need that.
2.  The factory 9.4" brakes are fantastic!  Get some moderately hard pads, rebuild the calipers, and add stainless lines.  Change to vented rotors if your car has solid ones now (make sure you order pads for a car with vented rotors).  Keep the rear drums if you have them.  This is a bulletproof and well-tested combo.  Now, if you're unfortunate enough to have ABS, that's a whole 'nother kettle of really nasty siht.
3.  Parts (calipers, pads, etc) are far cheaper for 9.4" brakes, and can be gotten anywhere in BFE at almost any time.  The vented 9.4" rotor was the same from 1980 to 1993, so almost all parts stores will have them.  There was some variation in caliper design, but they use the same pad.  We've had tremendous luck with the Axxis Metal Master/XBG pads on our Rabbit and I used the same ones on my street Jetta forever.  Great life and excellent heat resistance.

OK, I'll get off my "stock brakes rule" soapbox now.  Remember, simpler and cheaper are often better.  I know that brakes don't count toward the budget, but there are many other/better things to spend your hard-earned on.

Autozone/Advance DOES stock the 9.4" pads in Camden.  We bought two sets Saturday night at the fall race.  Also, stock Autozone/Advance front pads will not last too long at CMP, especially if the right front caliper is only working partially.  The left front rotor tends to get a tad hot and will melt the pads in under two hours, then you get nice smokey stuff and flames from inside the wheel, and your lap times increase substantially...

Meh, you run your setup, we run ours.  Any time you move mass away from the center of rotation, you're increasing the polar moment of inertia.  It takes more to get a 15" wheel moving than a comparable mass 14" wheel.  Also takes more to stop it.  Not to mention that 15" tires are at least a couple of pounds heavier than 14"ers.  That means more wear on brakes and less hp/torque getting to the ground.

My reasoning is that if you don't have to spend the $$$, why do it?

If you already have 9.4s, changing to larger brakes is an added cost.  We use Axxis Metal Master pads on our car, and after two full races running both days, we still have ~75% of our pad left.

Why?  If you're not changing calipers or going to rear disc, there's no reason to.  The 20mm works great with standard front/drum rear.  It's actually easier to modulate than a 22mm.  I've tried both, and while the pedal is a little longer on the 20mm, it gives much better feedback.

GAP isn't at the track.  If you blow something up, you'll need to order it.  GAP is awesome, and I've bought a lot of stuff from them, but they're "offsite". 
I think you may have been looking up rears at Advance.  What I found at Advance while looking up Corrado brakes was Wagner part number BD125099, which they list as a solid front rotor, when obviously, it takes a vented.  Their online price is $62.99.  In fact, looking at Advance's site, I couldn't get them to accurately list any vented rotors for 9.4" applications.  I'm sure they have them, but they're not shown online.

Again, outlined above.  Not just $$$, but simplicity.

Also, I'm not sure where you heard that 9.4s and 11s take the same caliper, but that's unfortunately incorrect.  Sorry.

I'm not trying to change anybody's mind, just trying to get info out there.  We don't like to spend money where we don't have to, and I can't imagine anyone else does, either.